The following travellogue is an outcome of my visit to the Forests of Chattisgarh during January 2005, while working as the project maanger at IIFM. It also brought me an opportunity to visit a small town near Bilaspur,
Champa where I had spent few years of my childhood some twenty years ago. Thus it signified a journey to the bylanes of my memory....
23/01/05
We three, as ITTO-IIFM project team, boarded 8254 Down Amarkantak Express on 23rd Jan’05 to visit Marwahi Forest Division in Chattisgarh (Pic. 1)
[1]. In company of experienced senior personnel, Dr D. Dugaya and Dr Kiran P. Mali, I was
pretty comfortable and very enthusiastic about my first trip to the real forests of India. My watch showed 1600hrs when, quite unexpectedly, breaking the tradition of Indian Railways, our train made a move from Bhopal station at the scheduled time!!! As the evening advanced with our advancing train, I had my first glimpse of dry deciduous forests of Madhya Pradesh. The journey became interesting as the train moving across the ups and downs of the forested hills provided an unprecedented view of not so dense but uniform forests. The vegetation as it appeared to me, was neither diverse nor does it appeared to be very rich, but in totality it gave an impression of a picturesque scenery, or should I say it portrayed a uniquely distinct image with all different shades ranging from green
to yellow to brown except a true dark green, characteristic of evergreen rainforests (Pic. 2) and which I were due to witness in my future trips to the forests of Kerala as WWF sleuth.
(24/01/05)
We reached our station-‘Pendra Road’, very early in the morning, (around 04:30 hrs) but not without having fun filled drama during the night. It involved trans-locating a man to another compartment who was sleeping on the berth right across me. The billowing noise of his snores even challenged the roar of the moving train. As the decibel count of his snores continuously soared in synchrony with the speeding train, while we co-passengers battled hard to get some sleep amidst this duel, it provided the main impetus for this act. When finally our patience gave up, solidarity for a common cause surfaced and we found ourselves united for what appeared to be a ‘do or die’ situation. Soon our efforts bore pleasant results when we succeeded to shift him to Dr Dugaya’s compartment, for whom there was no other option but to carry the baton once it has been passed onto him. Here unfortunately it was not a baton but a tough ordeal!!! In a true Indian spirit, we then enjoyed a good sleep for the rest of the journey without being concerned for the passengers at other compartment.
On that dark chilly morning of January, we alighted train to find the station deserted, and as we ventured out onto the streets searching for accommodation, the town also presented very few signs of life. Only after getting inside the room of hotel Surabhi, which were to be our accommodation during the stay at Pendra Road, warm couch and colour television provided the initial signs of flourishing civilisation in this small town of Chattisgarh. I believe Dr Dugaya and Dr Kiran were soon making good use of the warm and comfortable bed provided in the rooms, fulfilling the remaining quota of sleep, when I left to have a stroll on the streets. I wanted to witness in person this rural town waking up to a fresh morning, the morning rays helping to regain the vigour and spirit for an eventful day, students rushing to schools, groups of people sipping tea while discussing and flipping through local news paper simultaneously. I just wanted to be a part of everything that qualified for a mundane morning for all these people present there but was not less than an adventure for me. In a way I succeeded to experience an altogether different morning from my routine at Bhopal.
Later in the day we went to divisional forest office located at Marwahi, where we had a meeting with Mr. A.K. Tewari, Divisional Forest Officer. I found him a nice
and helpful person, with all the support he extended, it was impossible to think otherwise. For me this was the first opportunity to acquaint myself with the working of an important functional unit of a behemoth governmental setup established way back in 1896 by imperial rulers: the Forest Department. I was also introduced to some of the tree species and I witnessed how timber is handled in the forest depot (Pic 3). For a very peculiar and unprecedented long lasting sensation, Dr Dugaya made me to taste Kasturi Bhindi and Bhilawa when we spotted these trees while roaming in the premises of the Forest Depot.
As the day approached conclusion, we were happy that a major chunk of work was completed on the very first day, a good beginning for us. While witnessing the oblique sunrays one could not escape a peculiar feeling about the finish of a day in rural setting (of course, Indian). It is in the air, one hears the sound of birds coming back to the trees for roosting, one finds people’s faces exhibiting smiles of satisfaction and tiredness, as a farewell to a hard working day, and one smells in the air the smoke from the numerous kaccha Chulha (earthen stoves) reporting that the preparations for the supper has already begun. After experiencing all this from all the senses, bidding adieu to the sun and its golden rays remains just a formality.
On our way back to the hotel we crossed a brick kiln where clay tiles (to be used for terrace) were being prepared. This miniature unit employed only a handful of people, amongst them was a small boy barely 7-8 years of age. As I took a photograph of this working child (Pic 4) I
captured in my camera a tender childhood slowly maturing and hardening along with the drying clay tablets. These tiles were cautiously shaped by his little hands with a total indifferent attitude towards shaping his own future. The tiles would probably make it to the destination they were meant for, this boy however seems to remain here. With these thoughts I witnessed another face of my India in making. This sad irony remains dissident to the claims for the nation wide opportunities for equitable development to all and brings into spotlight the inefficacy of the current economic boom to make a real difference in the life of a common Indian.
(25/01/05)
We started off early in the morning to visit the field sites in the vicinity of the town Pendra Road. We met resource persons, forest beat guards and other members of the village committees. In total we visited five villages Piparkhuti, Palbania, Kotariadand, Thengadand and Gaurkheda and the resource persons Mr. Subelal, Mr. Santosh Kumar, Mr. Phoolchand and Mr. Santosh Kumar Pav for each of these villages. During our brief meeting these resource persons handed over the data gathered from the field sites and in return collected the honorarium for their services.
The villages were quite remote, nothing more than just a cluster of few houses; none appeared to have much of an influence of the modern world. Perhaps it was the first pleasant sight to find children going to the village schools, primary level at best, in the buildings that bore all typical characteristic of a government ownership. In most cases these were just a walled enclosure containing couple of rooms with pucca (concrete) ceiling. A much disturbing fact, however, was a total absence of any medical centres, neither government nor private (at least I did not spot a single dispensary or health centre in these villages). Lack of any medical facility for all the people who obviously provide the precious votes during election blatantly speaks of the callous attitude of the politicians who could and should make a difference in the standard of life of these rural people, who are no less than any other citizen of the country. This portrays somewhat true and contrasting image of the prevailing conditions of rural population for whom various agencies’ claims to ensure improvement in the standard of living.
It was a successful day in a sense that we were able to record the data,
distribute the honorarium and carry out the ecological survey of a plot (100X100 mts) in the vicinity of Gaurkheda village. We marked 5 (10X10mts) plots in the existing bigger plot and counted the species of plants/trees present in these plots. This was done in order to record the growth, regeneration and diversity of the species. The bigger permanent plot was largely a representative sample of Sal forest with other tree species such as Tendu, Char, Chilli, Kaari and Saaja. Teak was almost non-existent. Food that barely satiated the hunger marked end of the day.
(26/01/05)
It was a national holiday- India’s 57th Republic day. As the government offices were closed so we decided to have a trip to Amarkantak, the location high above in the hills from where two holy rivers descend to the plains of central India. While Narmada flows down towards west Son takes an east ward course. I was excited for few known and many unknown reasons; this was to be my very first sight of the origin of a river. I have earlier seen Narmada flowing in Gujarat where it is colossal in terms of span and volume and I was eager to see how humble its beginnings are, and making a detour during an official visit has its own excitement…!!!
The entire trip would have been a waste if it had been without those 10th century temples made
up of black granite stone (Pic 6). (I am not really sure what this substance actually is but its endurance suggests that it is made up of something very sturdy). There was a Shiv temple, which, I was told, dates back to 10th century and its main Shivalingam is said to have appeared from beneath the ground. Interestingly, a thin stream of water flows continuously watering it. This creates an image very similar to the mythological belief about river Ganga flowing out of the locks of Shiva. The temple of the river Narmada exemplified yet another face of devout Indian who would invariably go to any length of propaganda or deign to perform anything in the name of the God. This blind faith reigns supreme in the heart of millions of Indians who otherwise observe a peculiarly insensitive attitude towards the fellow countrymen/women. What good is this faith if it does not engender humility? Unfortunately none of these places of worship seems to be able to provide an answer to this unpleasant truth.
On our way back, we stopped at a small retail shop selling products and the items with medicinal properties derived from the forests. I took home half a kg of honey that was guaranteed for purity. This shop portrayed a good example of the shift in the attitude of the hegemonic dominion of Forest Department. It represented the implementation of new ‘benefit sharing’ policies of the department. It can not be stated with confidence as how far these attempts have been successful in changing Forest Department’s image of an overtly exploitative institution functioning for its own commercial benefits but a change in ideology was clearly evident. The narrative behind these new policies and initiatives was to ensure long term sustainability of the forest resources and towards capacity building of the villagers by checking illicit felling of the trees and unwarranted collection of forest produce. However, it must be noted that the department staff do not have any incentive in return of the extra duties and responsibilities that every new policy and scheme brings to them. So there is this bit of discordance still looming there, but expecting a truly perfect situation also is a way too ambitious an idea.
While returning from the village ‘Kevanchi’ we halted for a while to get some information from Mr Patnaik, another of Forest Department’s staff. He was a helpful and nice fellow. There I spotted village youth and younger kids playing some kind of game that we used to play with marbles. Interestingly here the marbles have been replaced by coins. The growing inclination towards money and desire to earn a quick buck with little effort has apparently transcended all the frontiers and even percolated deep into the rural hinterlands of the country. It also suggested the dying spirit of the sport and the sad reality as how the fun and adventure element has been so efficiently thwarted by the argument of currency in this fast changing economic world. This view was however refuted by the younger still who find adventure in their own wooden cart (Pic 7).
From Kevanchi we rushed back to Pendra Road and had the most awful dinner of the trip before letting the sleep sink deep within us.
(27/01/05)
We left for the villages towards the left side of highway, Gaurkheda and Thengadand, to meet Mr Santosh and complete the previous day’s work. After meeting him we went to Gaurkheda to fix up a new resource person so as to ensure regular collection of the data/ ecological monitoring of the random plot inside the forest.
Our entry into the village was very atypical. A fully blossomed and fruited Tamarind tree greeted us. With its ripe pods waiting to be devoured it grabbed all my attention instantly. This
sight tripped all my salivary glands and I felt a flooding sensation in my mouth. Without much ado I found myself busy treating my taste buds with farm or rather forest fresh Imli. It was indeed the much enjoyed sequel to my earlier explorations of Karkara, Bhilawa, Kasturi Bhindi and alikes during this trip. The treat of Imli was enjoyed by all except Dr Dugaya, for whom his ‘pudiyas’ (small sachet containing a mix of grinded areca nuts, catechu and tobacco) still held much attraction. After finishing this uncommon and welcoming treat we made a move towards the identification and surveying of newly identified forest plot in Gaurkheda (Pic 8).
There I was more involved in spotting some other signs of life
apart from the vegetation. I took several photographs of Grass hoppers and other insects, which, not to my surprise, I found in plenty (Pic 9). I tried to shoot a chameleon (Garden Lizard) but that was too quick to let me have it captured as a photograph. I feel these creatures were more surprised to find us there and were observing a state of induced alertness to respond to any of our (my) advances to their territory. The other people present there greatly enjoyed my pausing for short intervals photographing tiny creatures for which they had always been so indifferent. I wasn’t unaware of this and thought it might provide them some sort of entertainment in this otherwise a useless exercise for them.
We came back a little early, myself losing all of my interest into the last bits of the day’s visit when we went to DFO’s office to collect some data form office records. As my head was reeling with pain it was hard for me to concentrate on what is going on around. I was actually minimally interested in it, particularly after 3-4 days of seemingly monotonous and not very enriching experience as a whole. At that moment Dr. Dugaya’s proposal to visit Indira Udyaan (garden), 8 km away from Pendra Road has been accepted almost unanimously because we had nothing much to do and there was some diesel remaining in the vehicle which we saw no point in leaving it to the owner. Visit to Indira Udyaan turned out to be a painful experience in itself. The condition of few captive wild animals there instilled deep pity and sorrow. The enclosure for ‘Bear’ was so small that it could not even complete a full turn. It was very silent, as if accepted its misfortune and understood that this is not the free territory of forests where it once roamed and made itself heard to the wild. I came to know that there were actually two bears of which one died earlier. This surely seems to be on the same way, very silently though. Such a pitiful condition!
A pair of Rhesus Monkey were locked in the adjacent cubical. They were grossly malnourished pointing towards the poor state of affairs at the garden but I could not possibly see a point keeping them there. In absence of any check on the visitors, they were making fun of these creatures, sometimes shouting at them or pulling fingers or even worse by offering items such as chewing gum etc. The case of a solitary male Chital and male Sambhar too was depressing. To my untrained eye the duo appeared to be achieving their sexual maturity soon but no human present there seems to be bothered about it. These creatures don’t have much choice but to stare blankly into the future with a bleak possibility to be free in a jungle and grow into a family. So the trip, as I would record here, formed a part of this tour which I would not remember as relaxing and memorable. It should be noted as a frustrating visit to these trapped creatures whose pain was too great to be mentioned. Returning from the Indira Udyaan I started to compile this brief note of my trip and also decided to get some rest as the headache was growing. After having a good tasteful dinner, the headache disappeared and I was left to plan and prepare for my Champa visit scheduled for the next day. The following thoughts encumbered my preparations for the coming true of such a long cherished wish of mine—to visit the place where beautiful formative years of my childhood had been spent. I don’t know what this Champa trip has in store for me, yet I wish to revive and restore all my past memories which nonetheless are too faint in my mind but deny to go forever. I do sometimes fear ruining these beautiful fading images of the past in my effort to paint afresh those memories? Would it lose its beauty or will it become more beautiful, lively and enriched. Time will only tell the outcome of this trip which has come to my way so abruptly.
(28/01/05)
Champa. Finally the day so long cherished for arrived. There is this peculiar tendency in me to retrace the path that I have once travelled, revisiting the places where I once have been and refreshing the memories that have become a part of me. Following this doctrine, almost after 20 years I am again in this small town in the southern part of this newly formed state of Chattisgarh in the central India. In the past it was a part of Madhya Pradesh, thus in a sense visiting ‘Champa’ in Chattisgarh was something I actually did for the first time in my life!!!
I have long waited for this moment, when I will get a chance to come back to this place. I wanted to see as how far does the image of the town as preserved in my memory corroborates to the city in the present times. I reached Champa station very early in the morning, when it was still dark and the sky was overburdened with the clouds. It had already been raining since whole night and I was repeatedly cursing the bad choice of this particular day as the rest all of the week was bright sun shine.
I began my day by walking down up to my first school, ‘The Lion’s English Medium School’. There I met the principal of the school, Mr. K M Girdhar, who greeted me warm heartedly and appreciated the fact that I remembered old school and teachers and thought of visiting after such a long time. I too felt glad to be there again. I could recognise that the main hall and the classes were the same, even the wooden partitions that used to divide big hall into many small class rooms were also lying in the corner. I could sense a surge in my emotions. I could feel all those images of the past getting vibrant, alive once again.
Unfortunately though all trees have now gone from what used to be our tree dominated playing field. The lone structure at one corner of the playing field that used to be our favourite activity centre has given space for new school building. But amidst these changes, I was extremely delighted to find two of the teachers whom I really wanted to meet, Mrs U Bajpai and Mrs Sahai. Both served as my class teachers during the two years of schooling that I completed from this school. Isn’t it strange that only two teachers have continued here since past 20 years, as if waiting for me to come and meet them some odd day twenty years later (too much of imagination there!). Later when the principal convened a quick meeting for all the staff and I was provided an opportunity to share my thoughts, I could barely speak …rolling tears explained much more than probably my words could have.
My next destination was the house where we used to live while my father was posted in the Madhya Bharat Paper Mills Ltd. This was a rented accommodation, where we used to live on the terrace while the landlord occupied the ground floor. (Pic.10). It was indeed a great surprise for the landlord’s son and his family when I suddenly turned up from nowhere and introduced myself. Although they did not live in the house when we were there but I was received with great warmth amidst the bouts of overwhelming moments of emotion and surprise.
Things had changed in the market and in the neighbourhood and I think the globalising market forces can be held attributable for this. Although these changes were not so conspicuous but the place did not give the same feeling as I was expecting according to the past impressions etched in my mind. So in a way I was disappointed as it did not quite satisfied my idea of revisiting my own past. I find ‘my past’ has been tampered and modified. However, it was a new experience altogether, while I was longing for an opportunity to relish the fragrance of the past images in the same array afresh.
I still carry the pleasant memories of the time that I spent during our stay at champa at the bank of river Hansdev that flows by very close to our old house. I rushed to those old banks after spending an hour or so in the house. The visit to the river too disappointed me, with very little water flow and almost deserted waterfront, I could not relate it to the past when her banks were full of people. It was strange to find how drastically this river has lost importance and significance in the life of the people, for whom earlier it was a centre of so many activities. Such denigration for a still alive river appears unreasonable and hard to believe particularly since these towns are somewhat sheltered from the avalanche of traditional practices and cultural beliefs that has claimed the country’s fast developing urban centres. Before the rains could further dampen my thoughts, I quickly retraced my footsteps to return back to the house to have fulsome meal with the landlord family. During the lunch we abridged ourselves with the major events of each other’s family during the past 20 years since I left Champa. It was sort of a recap in a very fast track, 20 years squeezed in almost 20 minutes, but it was interesting. After lunch I went to have a small walk to the market and unsuccessfully tried to figure out if I could remember the buildings or places, all have been modified, renovated or constructed a new. Intermittent rain too spoiled much possibility to venture out for long. I went up to the bridge over the river and spent some time there before deciding to return to the house again, to finally say good bye to them, to the house that still holds some of the most beautiful and unforgettable moments of my childhood. I don’t know whether I would go there again, probably not, even if given a chance, I would prefer not to. Once refreshed, the good old childhood memories now could very well thrive within me and any further attempt to corroborate those fine experiences would simply ruin them altogether. And so I made a move. Interestingly, in morning I was greeted in the town with the exuberance of clouds, while on my departure, I was given a farewell with the wet eyes of these people for whom I was a stranger some few hours ago.
I boarded a local train to the district town of Bilaspur, where I moved to the Amarkantak Express. The other two members of the ITTO-IIFM team joined in at Pendra Road Station. The journey back to Bhopal was nothing but the very usual. I was nevertheless contended to the core, for having been able to venture out in the woods of central India and for being able to manage a trip to Champa as a bonus!!!
But before I bring this chapter to a close, I would like to mention something very special about the aangan (courtyard) of this house at champa (Pic. 10). It is here that I was first introduced to one of the flowering vines found in India, Madhu Malati, so it is called
in Hindi (Pic11). It can probably qualify as the childhood imprinting that its flowers and the fragrance hold such an important position in my life. Even now it is so ubiquitous that I keep on stumbling upon its presence during my stays at different places across the country. Therefore I could not help but to designate this vine as one fixture in my life which has always shared my moments. Because of its presence at various places it has always been a witness to the events of my life. And hence, always during the offset of autumn when the night starts getting cooler, the fragrance of its loneliness gets carried in thin air to unite with my senses, rejuvenating me, reminding me of the moments of pleasant past, telling me of her absent presence everywhere…
[1] The pictures have been deliberately modified using Adobe photoshop tools for having these special effects.
